Public Buses Are Driving Slower Which Led to Longer Waiting Time & It’s Due to Fewer Passengers

If you’re a rich fellow, you’d do a double-take at the headline that doesn’t seem to make sense. And if you’re indeed a rich fellow, you’d have also realised that some buses are crawling on the roads as if they’re on the first gear throughout.

Well, there’s a reason for this, and we’ve to blame our old foe that never seems to go away: COVID-19.

Before that, you need to know something: public buses have to follow a strict schedule, if not they can just speed through the route and go home earlier, isn’t it?

Bus Bunching, The Thingy You Know About But Didn’t Care About

Two years ago, a post went viral: someone complained that the bus he was in was moving too slowly, and even took an image of the poor bus driver.

SBS Transit then explained the facts that we already know.

Road conditions vary every single day but routes and schedules can only be planned according to what is expected to happen.

Which is why, sometimes, the traffic conditions and roads are clear and buses get ahead of their schedule.

Bus captains, when they notice that they’re ahead of schedule, have to adjust their speed to meet the schedule given to them.

So that you won’t meet with a situation like this: You’re waiting for bus service 185, and three buses arrived at almost the same time. Someone who missed the three buses might have to wait half an hour for the next bus to arrive.

By ensuring that bus drivers keep to the schedule as much as possible, bus arrival frequency at the bus stops will at least be kept at constant as possible.

But how can COVID-19 affect the traffic conditions?

Well, of course it can. That son of a b**** can do anything to wreak havoc.

Fewer Passengers Mean Buses Stop at a Bus Stop for a Shorter Period of Time

The world has plans for a society whereby you won’t be hauled to court for meeting more than five people for buffet. And the plan has worked well until COVID-19 hit, which has repercussions on things we can see and things we can’t see.

For example, the decline of ridership.

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According to The Straits Times, public transport ridership has plunged as much as 80% since COVID-19 hit, and it’s understandable; more people are working at home and you can no longer attend a wedding dinner.

This means fewer people at a bus stop taking a bus.

If a bus usually takes 45 seconds at a bus stop because 10 passengers are boarding, it might take 10 seconds now because only 2 passengers are boarding.

A difference of 35 seconds doesn’t seem significant, but if you multiple it by the number of bus stops the bus has to attend to, that can be more than 10 minutes.

That disruption has led to bus captains having to stop longer at a bus stop, or simply crawl their route so that they won’t reach their bus stops earlier than scheduled.

So technically, the bus schedules haven’t changed—it’s just that because you thought a bus should be coming based on what you see on your app and realised it’s much longer as it’s moving at gear one, you’d think that you’re waiting longer.

LTA said that this may “result in prolonged waiting time for some commuters.”

They added, “As Singapore gradually reopens, we are working closely with public bus operators to review and optimise bus schedules to better match travel demand and traffic conditions.”

So next time you’re in a bus, cut the bus captain some slack even if you’re on high tide.

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